​Or if you have concerns about a child and want to contact someone outside the School please contact:
Wiltshire Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) 0300 456 0108 (08:45am-5pm Mon-Thurs) and (8:45am-4pm) Friday
Emergency Duty Service 0300 456 0100 (5pm - 8.45am)
If a child is in immediate danger or left alone, you should contact the police or call an ambulance immediately on 999.

Designated Safeguarding Lead:
Terri Chard

Designated Governor for Safeguarding:
Sarah Gunner

We believe that childhood is a special time. Children should be cherished and nurtured and young people should never experience abuse of any kind. We are clear that as a school we have a responsibility to keep them safe and free from harm.
 
We recognise that the welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in the decisions we take for all children, regardless of;  age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of abuse. We keep the welfare of the child at the centre of our school.
 
Some of our children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues relating to physical or learning disability. We will work in partnership with a range of other agencies to promoting young people’s welfare, and ensure they can achieve the best outcomes. Staff are happy to challenge when there are professional disagreements.
 
At the Silverwood School we have a strong ethos of safeguarding by ensuring it is kept as the school’s top priority. We have a safeguarding team that provides training and facilitates this ethos throughout the school. We ensure that all staff uphold safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers.
 
We have developed an effective online safety policy; additionally, online safety training is offered to all parents through free safeguarding workshops. We will share current information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families through personalised sessions with children and group opportunities either through support work or online sessions for families and within the school’s newsletter.
 
We recruit staff safely, ensuring that all necessary checks are made. We use our procedures to manage any allegations made against staff and volunteers appropriately. We have a highly effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place.
 
All staff keep current with their training, and receive a minimum of 2 updates a year. The school uses National policies and documents such as Keeping Children safe in Education 2021 to ensure their staff have the most up to date knowledge. The Designated Safeguarding team have regular supervision to ensure that all staff can safeguard children effectively. They also engage in a wider safeguarding network within the county and the South West. 
 
Any records made or stored are used professionally and securely in line with data protection legislation and guidance. We will use our child protection and safeguarding procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know. We will involve children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately.
 
We create and maintain an anti-bullying environment and ensure that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that may arise. We have behaviour policies that ensures that all children feel safe in the school
 
We provide a safe physical environment for our children. We have built a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns. We use a variety of communication so that everyone’s voice is heard and valued.